Creating Lifestyle Business Success

Recent years have seen continued growth in the number of lifestyle businesses being started, that’s more people building businesses which give them the lifestyle they want.  While a lifestyle business isn’t everyone’s ambition, business success looks different to each of us, and our networking landscape benefits from those differences.

Business Growth – Understand it’s Place in Your Lifestyle ?

While our time living – and working – with Covid has presented restrictions we’d previously never considered, it has also initiated discussions about our priorities and the opportunities technology has given us to shape our lifestyles differently.

But how should we feel about stories of millionaire entrepreneurs working from the beach or individuals who manage a thriving business while doing the school run and toddler play dates? Then there is the follow-up question, for those who’ve already started their own well-balanced company, how do you achieve growth in your business without losing the flexibility and freedom which was originally your focus?

In fact, what is a lifestyle business?  

A lifestyle business is one which is designed around creating a chosen lifestyle rather than focused on traditional growth strategies and exit plans.

Lifestyle businesses are often set up by individuals looking to achieve a particular goal, or set of circumstances, in their life. Their business is then developed around their strengths and skills, giving them a way to generate income which they enjoy, and a business built to fit the life they want.

People start lifestyle businesses for any number of reasons. It’s worth remembering that, because the priorities of these business owners tend to include flexibility and balance, very few of them result in 7 figure incomes – despite the promises of social media.

So, what does success look like?  

Because this is your business, built around your lifestyle and your definition of success, you get to choose.

Whether your priority is travelling the world and working from anywhere, avoiding the 9-5 and working the hours you choose, or only working when your children are at school, it’s important to understand what success looks like for you.

While a lifestyle business may sound like a more relaxed and flexible option, that doesn’t mean that success will come easily – or without a plan.

As with any business, achieving sales and growth will require your time and effort, with goal setting and planning part of that too; after all – how will you know whether you’ve hit your goals unless you set them?

You may have noticed, there is an element of contradiction in our definition; while lifestyle businesses are not designed to maximise profit, creating your ideal lifestyle is likely to require a certain level of income. Financial goals are therefore going to be part of your planning.

Building a lifestyle business is about identifying those goals which mean success to you, rather than following the directions of others. If success to you, then, is working 10am-4pm three days a week to spend the rest of the week in your garden – use this to set your goals and define an income which will allow this.

What does growth look like for a lifestyle business?  

Just as your lifestyle business needs a plan to achieve the success you want, building any kind of successful business requires you to think about business growth.

Your plan for success, while incorporating flexibility and freedom, will still need markers which define that path to success – a path of growth. Once you achieve these goals, a review of your position will likely identify new opportunities to consider requiring new plans.

Again, growing your successful lifestyle business will require focus and hard work but what makes this a lifestyle business are your goals.

While developing your business, keep your ‘lifestyle’ goals as your focus – your flexibility, your balance, your joy – only exploring solutions which maintain this lifestyle.

Find ways to earn more without compromising on those things which are important to you, for many business owners this is achieved by outsourcing, expanding into multiple income streams, or exploring opportunities to widen your audience with products which are simple to deliver – how good are you at identifying business opportunities?

While many traditional businesses will embrace growth through bringing in employees or taking on property, for the owner of a lifestyle business this would need to be reviewed against your goals and priorities. This means collaboration and outsourcing are more common in lifestyle businesses than taking on employees, a path that we discussed in our recent post on strategic partnerships.

 Successful Lifestyle Businesses to Build the Life You Want

While some may consider the term ‘Lifestyle Business’ suggests an enterprise which isn’t serious, building a successful business will look different to everyone. Whatever stage you have reached in your business journey, your lifestyle business can – with focus – continue to grow and develop and financial rewards will be part of that.

As you look for new opportunities, you might consider the benefit of a network to support you – we welcome individuals from all kinds of businesses who are focused on growth and development (and we don’t believe you have to sacrifice a fulfilling lifestyle to do it).

We’d love you to visit one of our meetings, have a look at our networking opportunities to see what would work for you.